To be a Hero
by Icehang
Summary: This is more or less an Au of League of legends should everyone's moral compass be twisted ever slightly so much. Our story's star is Poppy - the Keeper of the Hammer. She is however without the plucky never give up attitude, and a few other minor things, I'm sure you'll catch on soon enough.


Authors notes: Hello and thank you for taking your time to read this story, if you enjoy it please let me know.

Most of the champions I will be featuring wont always have a skin that properly displays their look in the story and as such will be touched upon in author notes, this is apparent in the first chapter with the Champion Sion.

Sion, the Undying Hero- Rather than the usual crimson and grey that we know, the Sion of this world is a lot more fleshed toned, and notability more civilized. Think Barbarian, with a bit more clothes. This Sion is also gifted with the blessings of the arc-light, giving him a similar strength to that of the normal soul furnace Sion.

The first thought that came to my mind was " _Where am I?"_ followed by an ear splitting headache and a wet sensation on my face. I was drooling all over myself, and the ground beneath me rocky and unpleasant. I had been sleeping, and I was outside. I couldn't remember how or when i got here however so that caused a small bit of panic in my spine

My eyes shot open and I quickly took inventory of my surroundings in a panic. There was the dead campfire, that I remember, an empty bottle of pixie shine explained the headache.

There was a small corpse of a piglet I caught for dinner near the edge of the firepit, I double glanced over at it, "nothing but bones now…" I noted aloud in slight pity, a good meal has been hard to come by for a while, not like this piglet was very much anyway.

I shake myself from my thoughts, food is not what I was looking for, I glimpsed around my small campsite a little harder, Panic begin to set in more.

"Where is it!? Where is it!? Where is it?! Where, where, where…. WHERE IS IT?!" I clawed around the camp kicking up dirt and knocking over my buckler and chestplate standing up against the tree I was sleeping by.

 _Did they find me and just decide to take it? Or did some vagabond drifter just take it looking to hawk it for a quick buck while I was asleep?_

I stopped in place at the thought.

"...I'm a vagabond drifter."

I shook myself from that unpleasant thought. _Another vagabond drifter_ I mean. Scrambling around and growing more and more tense by the second.

I was alerted by a small rustling near a bush on the far side of my campfire. My eyes darted around looking for a suitable weapon, my shield the only thing in arms reach. I quickly grabbed it ready to bludgeon to death whatever thief vagrant decided to hang around with MY hammer.

*Rustle Rustle *****

I tiptoed closer hoping to catch them by surprise.

 _Quietly... Quietly… Quieter…_

As I grew closer my heart began beating in my throat, it was getting harder to breath. I was really scared to be fighting half dressed and half awake. I felt so vulnerable, waking up without the hammer.

The bush in question at arm's length now, my grip growing tighter. With one quick leap I jumped into the foliage, shield overhead ready to smash in the first face I saw.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" I yelled.

A brown little furball jumped out of the way of my shield and quickly sprunge up the tree near my personal things.

 _... A squirrel._

 _It's the woods, of course there are squirrels._

I looked down at my now dirty clothing and shield, mild contempt growing. I looked up and yelled.

"Coward!" I called at the squirrel and was about to go back to my missing item problem before I caught something in the tree with my eye.

 _The hammer._

 _How the hell… Oh that's right._

A glimpse from last nights pixie shine addled stuper came to me. I had thought how smart it would be to hide the hammer in the tree from bears that would eat it.

 _Sigh… Well I guess I have to get it back down now._

I tossed my shield to the side and hopped up to scale the tree. Despite nobody else but me to blame I was still annoyed.

When I made it to the branch that I tied my hammer to I looked around from my new vantage point to make sure nobody was around.

As I loosed the knot the familiar weight started to fill my grip. I lay into the tree with newfound relief as my immediate crises was pacified, resting my eyes half considering going back to sleep.

 _I think I was having a good dream too_

I was being hoisted up onto the shoulders of two grizzled warriors. "Three cheers for the hero of Demacia, Poppy!" they yelled. I was blushing… or at least felt like I was."Hip hip, hooray!"

I was at the royal castle, they were having a party in my honor. We won the big important battle thanks to the quick thinking and actions of me, I even saved the Prince too even! "Hip hip, hooray!"

I was going to be knighted… given my own seat at the royal court. Me! A Yordle! Everyone would adore and respect me. "Hip hip…."

The sound of wood cracking pulls me from my daydream

 _Huh? Maybe I should…._

I'm falling before i can finish my thought.

I try and land somewhere soft.

I don't.

… _Owchie._

I landed face first in my rocky and unpleasant bed. I sorta just lie there thinking about how nice it would be to just stay here forever. When the initial charm of that idea wears off I decide to get up and get dressed.

I'm back on the road about fifteen minutes after eating my bedspread, slightly sore, agitated, hungry, cold, etc.

 _Why did I even leave Bandle… I could at least be miserable there where I don't have to walk every day._

I had been marching every day like this for about a couple months now, my blisters had blisters and my calluses had calluses. I've marched thru snow, sand, Rain and mud. Things have tried to stab, shoot, or eat me and on more than one occasion all three at the same time. I've felt lonely and lost, scared and sad, and even more oftentimes confused about why I keep putting myself thru this. All this would just be less frustrating if I didn't have to luge this stupid heavy magic hammer around all the time too.

Don't get me wrong! This stupid magic hammer is kickass and all, it can make anyone who can use it an unbreakable wall of resolve, It makes a wildly swinging blow hit in just the right way, you can even use it to fly _(I haven't made it work for me yet.)_ , it's just that you would think being magic it would carry itself, or keep you company, or reassure you you're going the right way… or something!

 _I just sorta… wish I could be done with all this marching..._

Why am I marching? I'm supposed to keep marching until I find somebody "worthy" of wielding the awesome power of the hammer. Like what kind of searching system is that? There is no way that this is the best way to find somebody qualified to toss around this stupid iron potato on a stick. But nooooo! It has to be all "You'll know when the time's right" Like that's supposed to help me. "The hammer will draw out the true potential of whoever can truly use it."

Im mean yeah I had a few potential candidates. I still have the bloodstains on my sleeve from the last guy, I didn't even know you're legs could bend that way… He could of at least tried to-

I hear faint echoing loud crack pulling my attention.

 _-not….Hmmm? What was that?_

 _As I listen for another noise An even louder one rings sounding like a cannonshot._

 _That one was way louder!_

It sounded like a boulder smashed into thunderstorm made out of glass. Whatever was happening was definitely getting, and probably worth seeing.

Another couple of booms and bangs later and I can tell where its coming from. It's not easy to guess the closer I get since now it just sounds like the entire forest is being cut down by a bunch of angry lumberjacks shotguns. I start hotfooting toward where I think I hear the commotion is coming from. By now it sounds like the earth is splitting open. When I get there and actually see what's happening?

 _Wow._

It was the infernal gatekeeper. Demacias giant rock statue demon in the living stone flesh, Galio. He was winding up a punch to... no way.

The Undying hero, the unliving legend, the walking army of willpower and strength, Sion!

I was awestruck as I watched Galio crack a haymaker straight into Sion's gut.

The odds to see these two purely by chance.

 _Guess marching around has its merits._

"You know, I don't think you have enough FIBER in your diet." Galio shouted smugly as he slammed Sion into a tree face first. They made it look like everything was made out of paper mache the way splinters ruptured and spewed about the recently leveled ground. Sion got to his feet.

"Yeah? Well you _knee-d_ More Iron!" He pulled Galileo's head by the bottom of his axe blade in a swift motion, bringing him right into his knee making a very adabubile scraping crunch of stone busting on the juggernauts metal leg. Galio was knocked back from the blow, the statue staggered back and forth, he spat out arcane looking gravel and seemingly cracked his neck.

 _Does he even have bones?_

"I'm going to personally rip you limb from limb and force feed you every one of em' when I put you back into the dirt and back in hell!" said the carved stone with a very bright glow to their eyes.

"You're gonna have to drag me there yourself you glorified paper weight." Retorted the undead man, pointing his axe to the ground.

"With _e_." The words pouring out a way that only a sadist could say, it made my blood chill and my stomach drop.

Galio blasted his wings wide open and flapped up debris and dirt as he rose to the sky with ease. As the ten ton statue tore the sky, Sion held their ground, his feet digging into the dirt with the blast, pounding his chest with his axe, staring up defyingly at the demon. Storm clouds formed from the clear day blocking out the sun, lightning flashed, thunder roared. "Come get some!" Sion spewed at the hovering collassis as he began to drop.

I was so wrapped up watching the unfolding carnage I forgot to make sure if I was actually in a safe distance from the blast zone, I wasn't.

I was thrown against a tree, back first, the wind knocked out of lungs and tear forming in my eyes from the pain and the dust that filled the air like a deluge. That's when I realized I did the one thing I shouldn't have.

I dropped the hammer.

It was still on the ground where I was watching the fight, the kicked up dust was also making it hard to see who was still standing. I saw two shadows thru the haze.

 _What the hell are these guys made out of?! There's no way BOTH of them should be standing._

The air was slowly returning to my lungs and I started crawling towards the hammer trying to keep myself close to the ground incase anything flew at me unexpectedly from the fight. That's when something flew at me, unexpectedly.

I didn't know it at the time but it was the snapped off head of Sions axe. These two guys were sturdier then their gear, go figure.

I'm no pushover but getting slapped with the flat side of a slab of iron weighing more then at least twice your bodyweight would make anyone lose a couple seconds of consciousness. So I can say without shame that that is exactly what happened. When I came to the dust was even more hazy and the shadows were a bit more blurry, It could have just been a tiny concussion tho i'm not sure. In my window of opportunity for corporeal thought i started crawling again, only this time slightly lower closer to the ground then before.

That is when, unexpectedly, another large chunk of something flew at me.

This time I got a glimpse of what was speeding in my direction, unexpectedly, thanks to my added steps of staying closer to the ground. It was strangely fist shaped and smelt like brimstone. I lost a few minutes of consciousness that time I believe. With small gaps of vision coming and going sporadically giving me snapshots of the two beating the everloving shit out of each other before I gained full clarity.

I may have been a little bit more unlucky than most taking two potflies to my cute yordle face, this time when I came to it looked like Galio was winning one armed, literally.

 _They really don't know when to quit._

Galio had a hold of Sion in a one armed headlock, Sion grabbing at Galio's hold and punching the statue with his free arm. I was inches from the hammer.

"RAGHHHH" the earth trembled at the roar of Sion as he looked around for a way to shake off Galio.

I was just going to take the hammer and split, but as soon as I touched it, it flew from my grasp. Like it was pulled away by some unseen force.

I blinked.

 _What?_

I reached for it again only for it to be pulled again, this time slightly stronger and closer to the scrap. Both of them were still busy pummeling each other senseless, and I was about to

I can't believe now of all times the hammer decided to do something like this. I was told that It can do some pretty weird stuff if the situation demands. For example it can set and balance its weight perfectly for whoever wields it, It's still stupid heavy. It can also be a really strong catalyst for magic to I guess. I was also told that "it can come to anybody who knows how to reach for it." Whatever that means...

 _No, It couldn't be. But there's no way either of them even know your here! How can you just decide all of a sudden you want to help him!_

I wasn't having any of it and when I got near the hammer this time, I grabbed hold of it with both hands and dragged it way with all my strength. It seemed to feel normal for a few seconds and I was about ready to take off without a second thought. Then when was just in the tree line I was yoinked back like a dog on a leash.

"You dirty backstabbing bastard! Why now?!" I was now pulling on the handle of the hammer with the head it pointing directly at Sion and Galio. Yelling at inanimate objects isn't my favorite pastime, and being close to two rampaging titans is even lower on my list.

With all my strength and will pulling the hammer a way, it still gains inch after inch. Then suddenly, I'm airborne.

We have lift off

I'm flying thru the air like a bird, I've always wanted to get this trick to work, this would be so much more exciting if I had any control on where i was going.

Sion is on his knees, both arms on Galio's stone grip around his neck. He is running out of air.

 _You mean he needs air?! He's already dead! Why would he need air?!_

Im picking up speed, alot of speed.

Incredibly they don't notice me yet, both their backs are turned and I'm coming up hot on both of them.

Im hanging on with one hand, my other hand whipping around in the wind.

 _This is gonna hurt, a lot._

I had to be maybe 5 yards when i lost my grip on the handle, It seemed to speed up even more, and crashed right into the back of galios head, unexpectedly.

Galio was ejected from Sion's back at probably mach 1, Right into the Ground, face first.

I was still gathering my bearings from my first test flight, Sion was looking down at Galio whilst still on his knees griping Galios other arm. It took him a Few brief moments to realize that the vice like grip around his neck was gone, and tossed the smoldering limb at Galio. He was quick to get back to his feet and look around for what had saved him. All he saw was a hammer on the ground in front a yordle smiling like she wished she wasn't here..

Murmerings came from the pile of rubble galio was laying face down. Sion was still looking at me before he had a chance to look behind him. Galio was up, and did not look happy at all.

Whilst both of his arms were very much gone, he didn't look like he cared, in fact he seemed almost more intimidating without them for some reason i could understand.

His wings were stretched wider than a house, green arcane flame flowing from it, there was a towering inferno pouring out of every Visible mark and scarring on his Impossibly hard body. His arms gone as they may, were now stubs that bled forth like a forest fire.

"No more jokes, no more fun, I'm going to _kill_ you now. I'm going to kill that blue girl with the hammer, I'm going to find everyone you have ever known or loved and kill them too, and then torture the both of you in hell, **R** "

I was frozen in place, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think, I couldn't move I was so scared. I was at direct end of possibly the single most powerful thing I had ever seen. I didn't know how to act, How could I? Fortunately I didn't have too.

Sion was staring at the gatekeeper without moving, arms gripped at his sides, if he was afraid he was damn good at not showing it. I wasn't paying attention to the hammer, neither was Galio or Sion.

Galio was about to make it rain fire and brimstone, the touret pouring from his arms twisted and contorted into two walls of flame and shot out towards us. I was still stuck frozen in fear. The wall of flames growing faster, speeding closer and closer and then, farther?

Whilst I was still paralyzed in fear, Sion had managed to pick me up and was running faster than a man his size would be reasonably expected to move. The inferno keeping pace.

"Thank you for saving my life." Sion spoke calmly whilst he was running, trampling trees and rocks in his wake."You're a true hero, helping somebody you don't even know. I swear I will repay you somehow, but unfortunately this dire situation is over yet."

 _Me? Save you? What?! Wait... Undying hero is carrying me! We are so close! His muscles are even bigger up close… And he said he would repay me! Will I get to be his own personal squire? Get to sleep in a bed? Get-_

" **Get back here!** " The gatekeepers demonic voice pierced over the roaring flames and brought me to the present.

 _Oh right, we're gonna die._


End file.
